Like Minded Friends We Just Hadn't Met Yet - Bellingham, WA

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We keep running into like minded friends we just hadn't met yet. First Transition Whatcom jumped in and co-sponsored our event. They're doing a bunch of great stuff to promote community resilience in their area. Then we met Jodi, a Holy Scrap blog reader who has posted many times and who suggested Village Books as a tour stop. After a presentation of The Good Life Lab to a attentive group in Bellingham, WA we said goodbye to our warm hosts, the store owners Chuck and Dee, and made our way to our crash pad for the night.

When we arrived at the farm we let ourselves in as Ellen and Reese and their super sparkly kids were at a symphony up in Vancouver. We noticed the toddy slow filtering in the kitchen and felt at home. In the morning over coffee the like mindedness emerged like popcorn. Not the stuff like "you make cheese so do we." For the first time I heard expressed something that I wrote about in The Good Life Lab, a thoughtful decision not to scale up a business. Like Mikey and I, Ellen and Reese said "no thanks" when the prompt came to expand the Montessori school that they founded which is booked solid. They know growth meant a reduction in quality of life. They looked around and noticed their abundance and said we have what we need. No coincidence, this was the fully loaded farm tended by folks not worn down and exhausted. The farm obviously requires labor and time. They raise sheep, duck, cows and chickens and grow their produce, manage an orchard and raise two kids! Did I mention they built their log cabin home? What's their secret? Balance, clear and smart priorities (not money), and low low debt. Speaking about their routines many times they used the word rhythm. I enjoyed getting to know Ellen and Reese and appreciated the reminder the left me with, to preserve balance and abundance (not wealth) at all costs!

(Images: Samara with a sheep that believes her to be it's mom. Awww. Chuck and Dee at Village Books)

Sesame's Thoughts

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Sesame's Thoughts, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

If you ask our dog Sesame what she likes best about being in the Northwest she'll say, "dog park". The long grasses and rolling hills are hard for her and us to believe!

Portland Schedule

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Portland Schedule, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

We have some really great venues setup for our Oregon book tour. Most of the events take place in Portland, but we also have a talk in Corvallis.

DorkbotPDX - June 17th @ 7pm - Backspace (PDX)
Grass Root Books - June 18th @ 7pm (Corvallis)
Evolver Spore Group Gathering - June 20th @ 7:30pm Townsend's Tea Shop (PDX)
Unconference @ OS Bridge - June 21st - Eliot Center (PDX)
Powell's Bookstore (Flagship Store) - June 23 @ 7:30pm (PDX)

VW Repair in Route to DIY Talk

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VW Repair in Route to DIY Talk, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

You know you are legit, maybe too legit, maybe too legit to quit when you are on route to a book store talk to present your new DIY book and the front engine splash shield detaches and starts dragging and you fix it with zip ties. Once we get the correct parts we'll do a better DIY repair, but it worked and we got to our destination on time.

10 Days Since Release Date and First Reprint: The Good Life Lab

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Mikey and I received great news Yesterday . Though The Good Life Lab has been available for only ten days the book has been sent off for it's second printing. Of course I want the book to sell well but I realize that selling out leaves me on the road and touring with no copies for folks to buy. I'll celebrate though because this is great news!

Thanks for the support everyone. See you on the road.

(image: my new friend Rachel's letter press in her home design studio in Seattle)

Pushing On to Powells * Visiting Snobby Geekish Women on Route

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This weekend Mikey and I are headed to Bellingham, WA. We have two stops tomorrow. The first is a group that I found on Meet Up called Snobby Geekish Women Who Like Wine, Chocolate and sci-fi. I couldn't resist. I wrote them an email, "I'm a geekiesh woman who likes wine, chocolate and sci-fi! Can I drop in and tell you about my project?" Their reply was a warm yes.  They've since gone out of their way to arrange for my visit. They also opened it to the public so if you are a SGW who likes WC&S or you just like SGW who like WC&S, come on down, the gigs in Greenwood. Mikey and I are bringing the anti-griddle. We'll be making popsicles and well yes of course drinking wine.

Then we're off to Village Books in Bellingham where we're are already being warmly welcomed by a vibrant community and hospitable indie bookstore. Come if you can.

Following Bellingham we head to Portland for a few different gigs including a Dorkbot, a stop in on the Evolver community, and we'll be presenting at the big Powell's. I've been blogging for them  throughout the month.

Here's the tour schedule and all the details.

Spirit of Indie Lives on Bainbridge Island

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Last night on Bainbridge Island I was reminded that the indie bookstore holds a special place in this world. The placeholder is not actually the store it is the warm, friendly, inspired people who value community like Victoria, the owner of Eagle Harbor Books.

I recognized her right away when we arrived. She'd recently FB friended me. I hesitated to accept her invite because I didn't recall knowing her. But I kept coming back to the invite and finally clicked the accept button simply because her FB photo features her wearing two pair of glasses, yes at the same time. This quirk was one of those things that led me to believe that there was something interesting about her. Clearly there are other options for people with two prescriptions - presumably one for reading another for distance. But I liked that she chose the seemingly awkward one, two pair at the same time.

Upon arriving at Eagle Harbor Books there she was double decked just like her photo. Her uniqueness continued to unfold as she busied about caring for every possible detail and person. I was not surprised when the store filled with warm hearted folks who came to hear my presentation of The Good Life Lab. Victoria embodies the difference between the franchise mega store and the indie. The indie, warm and personal is capable of relationship, each one uniquely tailored to hold the idiosyncrasies we humans tend to have and thank goodness! Thanks Victoria, a lovely host.

Capital Hill: Space & Tools for Making - Inspiration Too

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Imagine that in a two block radius you can drop in to a hacker space and use a full size CNC, laser cutter, 3-printer, 3-D casting gear, electric knitting machines and more, and then slide over to a technical bookstore for information and inspiration. If you live in Capital Hill you are that lucky. We dropped in to both and met Matt, the owner of the hack space Metrix and then wandered over to say hi to Danielle, the owner of Ada's Technical Books.

Gems of the Northwest - People!

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 One of the very best thing about being on a book tour is the people we meet. And we've met some very special people. In Seattle we couch surfed with new friends that dazzled us with their talent, creativity and desire to shape this world into beautiful form.

Rachel and Josh Kopel helped us set up a gig with the local Dorkbot which took place at Makerhaus, a tech shop in Freemont. They also gave us a tour of their own maker space which is in their home. Josh has a serious workshop that features stunning vintage, industrial fabrication tools that he meticulously restored. With them he can make just about anything. Rachel, a paper designer showed us her studio, a wonder world of detail and good design. Like Josh's studio her's had vintage tools like a letter press and giant paper cutter. Her company, Mischievo, is well worth checking out. 

Then we bounced over to TED fellow, Dominic Muren's place, a seriously lovely crash pad. He authored the book, And Eco-Worriers Handbook (Apple Press) and made this low fi modern running wheel barrow that he uses to remain car free while living in a city. He hauled bails of hay 3 miles with it! He's currently working on some great projects that that will provide open source data for makers of all variety. Check out Cottage Industrialist and The Humble Factory for immediate inspiration. 

We send out our heartfelt thanks to them all! No need to remind this crew to dream aloud, they're already doing it! 

See You in Seattle

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We've been having fun visiting communities throughout the northwest. We had one surreal moment the other day when we visited a huge B&N in a giant mall. As you can see in these photos they put is in the children's book section where we took advantage of the cool background and used it as a photo booth. I tried to give away popsicles made on our anti-griddle but the mall crowed seemed sure I was offering poison.

If your in the Seattle area consider meeting us at one of these next three events. If you have friends in the area, pass it on! 

Third Place Books 

Author appearance, June 11, 2013 07:00PM 

17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA, US 

University Washington

Author appearance, June 12, 2013 07:00PM 

University Bookstore on the Ave, 4326 University Way NE, Seattle, WA, US 

Eagle Harbor Book Co. 

Author appearance, June 13, 2013 07:30PM 

Eagle Harbor Book Co., 157 Winslow Way East, Bainbridge Island, WA, US  

Check in our growing tour schedule is always posted on Goodreads.

TGLL Book Talk : Third Place Books : Lake Forest Park

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TGLL Book Talk : Third Place Books : Lake Forest Park, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

Wendy's next book talk for The Good Life Lab takes place at 7pm in Lake Forest Park, WA at Third Place Books.

Third Place Books
Author appearance, June 11, 2013 07:00PM
17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA, US

Good Life Lab Event Kit for Book Clubs

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Storey just released a Good Life Lab event kit meant for use by book clubs. If your are in a book club, know of one, or want to start one to talk with friends about The Good Life Lab feel free to use these resources.

First Book Store on Book Tour

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First Book Store on Book Tour, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

Old Friend

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Old Friend, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

Good to see you again Gas Works Park. It has been too long.

Book Talk: Seattle Barnes and Noble Northgate Mall

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Book Talk: Seattle Barnes and Noble Northgate Mall, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

Wendy will be giving a talk on her new book The Good Life Lab at the Seattle Barnes and Noble bookstore in Northgate Mall. Talk starts @ 7pm.

Northgate Mall
401 NE Northgate Way #1100
Seattle, WA 98125

From the Blog of Pir Zia Inayat Khan - TGLL Review

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From 2004 to 2008 I attended a school called The Suluk Academy. Stories of my adventures while attending are in The Good Life Lab. Suluk is no ordinary school. I liken it to attending Hogworts from the Harry Potter books. We had no flying broomsticks but we did explore a wonder world, discover magic, and everything that I learned there has carried a kind of pixie dust that has made my life sparkle with clarity. The school provided many excellent teachers, each year a new perspective on Sufism which was the core subject of our study. Every year we benefited from the loving guidance of a central teacher, Pir Zia Inayat Khan. Today Pir Zia has shared his review of The Good Life Lab. If you've ever loved a teacher with all your heart you can imagine how great it feels to get glowing feedback from the one whose inspiration illuminated the way.

Amazon Sales Rank for The Good Life Lab

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We have had a exciting day of watching Wendy's new Book The Good Life Lab climb in rank on Amazon. It's presently in the top 600 books and placing #1 in DIY, #2 in howto and #9 in sustainable living. That's pretty cool because the book officially comes out tomorrow!

The Good Life Lab Makerhaus Talk

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The Good Life Lab Makerhaus Talk, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

We had a fun night at the gorgeous Makerhaus space in Seattle. We were given a full tour before we broke out the anti-griddle and made some pops for the dorkbot guests. Big thanks to Josh Kopel of Dorkbot Seattle and Makerhaus for hosting us.

Boing Boing & Cool Tools Review The Good Life Lab!

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My all time favorite blog reviewed the book today, Boing Boing . And if you've not yet discovered Kevin Kelly's tastemaker site Cool Tools the review there is a way to checking it out. We have been dedicated Boing Boing readers since we lived in NYC. And when we first started homesteading in New Mexico we regularly consulted the Cool Tools site for recommendations.

The Good Life Lab at Makerhaus (Seattle) 7pm June 3rd

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Wendy and I will be speaking about her new book The Good Life Lab in Seattle tonight @ 7pm. This is part of a special Seattle Dorkbot event being held at Makerhaus located in the Fremont. Please stop by and see us. Makerhaus 122 NW 36th St Seattle, Washington 98107